Twin Soul
by arimi-yume
Summary: Waking up, two souls find themselves reborn in another world as infants with the memories of their past lives.But what do you do when your twin brother happens to be the alternate reality version of yourself?Warnings:Slash, incest.HarryxHarry
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer : No, I do not own Harry Potter. This is just a fanfiction.

A/N I know I should be working on my other stories but I couldn't resist writing this one.

Warning- Contains slash (boyxboy). It also contains incest and narcissism (well, depends on how you see it.)

Thanks : I would like to thank my beta-kawaii kitsune for correcting the mistakes in this chapter.

**Prologue**

The winds were silent tonight. Only wisps of a small breeze floated through the trees, whispering words that no man could possibly comprehend. The full moon shone proudly in the sky, lighting the world that its warmer counterpart had abandoned for the night. The clouds it seemed had also disappeared, leaving the stars to dance and smile down at the world below.

A single figure stood under the moon's soft glow, surrounded by a cluster of trees that created a circle around him. He was cloaked entirely in the darkest of shades, the same colour of the night sky which stretched out above him. The air around him practically sizzled with magic. It was as dark as it was powerful.

There was a touch of confidence and pride in his stance, secure was he in his knowledge of his own abilities. It was not arrogance that made it so. No, it was years of never-ending fighting that had sculpted him into what he was today. He had lived through many challenges, seen many things and fought endless battles but in the end he knew, he had been victorious. He had done what no other living soul could—he had destroyed the dark lord.

But his victory had come with a heavy price; he had lost the ones he had wanted the most to save. His godfather, his mentor and even his best friends… they had all lost their lives in the war. He had given up so much for the war, his parents, his childhood and even his dreams of a peaceful life with the people he cherished. They were all gone now; there was nothing left to live for. With their last breaths they had made him promise that he would live and find the happiness they had fought for.

No one could say that he didn't try. He lived for many years in search of happiness but without the ones he loved the most, his efforts proved futile. There was nothing left in this world that could bring him the warmth he so craved for.

And so it was time. It was time to take a risk, to find a way to fill the emptiness that had haunted him for so long. It was time to leave this world behind.

The figure held a small ceremonial dagger in his hand, crafted, he knew, by Salazar Slytherin himself. There were small inscriptions on the edge of the dagger, carved in the language that only a Parseltongue could read.

He then began chanting under his breath. It was an ancient spell that had been long forgotten since the time of the founders. He had come across it by accident during his travels in ancient Egypt. The spell had been written in hieroglyphics but with a little help from an old Egyptian wizard, he had translated it and written it down in Parseltongue.

With slow and deliberate movements, he slashed his right palm and waited until three drops of blood fell to the ground. With a final look at the world he would be leaving behind, he closed his eyes and let the dark portal that appeared under his feet swallow him whole.

(space)(space)(space)

It was a calm morning. Dewdrops powdered the flowers and leaves all around him, creating diamond-like patterns under the morning sun. A lean figure stood silently under a large oak tree that provided shelter for the two joint gravestones built under it.

The names, 'Ron and Hermione Weasley' were carved into the cold and solemn stones.

Small teardrops rolled down the cheeks of the silent figure that had been standing there ever since the sun had risen that morning. That had been four hours ago and the figure had yet to move away from the gravestones. In his hands he carried a small bouquet of white roses. There were six stalks wrapped in a page of an old newspaper. Three for Hermione and three for Ron.

He had been here every year, ever since their untimely deaths. That had been five years ago, but the memory of their laughter and smiles had never wavered from his memory. He would have gone to visit them as often as possible but he had found that he did not like reminding himself of their deaths. Their gravestones were like a final reminder of why he would never get to see them again.

But today was different. Today was special—it had been the day they had gotten married. He still recalled their smiles the day they had pledged their vows to one another. There had been love and happiness dancing in their eyes as they stared at one another and said 'I do'. He had been the best man of course; both of them had threatened to feed him with Hagrid's rock cakes for the rest of his life if he didn't agree.

They had died in battle a few months after their wedding during a raid in Diagon Alley. They had died together, side by side after taking down over thirty death eaters. They had died as heroes and their sacrifice had led to Voldemort's destruction.

Harry's anger had fueled his power enough to blast the dark lord into oblivion after witnessing their deaths. The death eaters had fallen the minute Voldemort was destroyed and the war finally ended, leaving the Light victorious.

That had been five years ago, and to this day he had tried his best to live as they would have wanted him to. He had tried finding happiness but grief had taken over too much of his heart. He had done his best to cope with it but after five years he realized not even time could wash away his pain.

"I came to say goodbye. My final goodbye," he said with a sad smile as he looked longingly at the two gravestones.

Taking out his wand, he started drawing runes on the ground around him. The runes glowed a ghostly white but as soon as he bit his thumb and let three drops of blood fall to the ground, the runes grew brighter until they wrapped him in a ball of pure light. And with a small 'pop' the ball of light disappeared, taking him with it.

The only evidence to prove that he had been there was the small bouquet of white roses that remained where he had been standing only moments before.

A/N Well, so what do you think? This is only the prologue so it is a little short. review, please?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Let's go on shall we?

Disclaimer : No, I do not own Harry Potter. This is just a fanfiction.

Warning- Contains slash (boyxboy). It also contains incest and narcissism (well, depends on how you see it.)

Pairing : Harry/Harry ( But don't worry, they won't both be called Harry)

"Hello"-speech

'Hello'-personal thoughts

'_Hello'-_mental conversations (you'll see what I mean)

* * *

The first thing that ran through his mind was, 'Where in Merlin's name am I?' Green eyes stared up at a white ceiling littered with small fluffy clouds and tiny fairies that playfully danced about. There was a small shooting star that soon shot by and winked at him as it bounced from cloud to cloud.

He knew that it was an enchanted ceiling; he could feel the enchantment through his magic. 'Whoever sought it fit to put me here in this, this… fluffy place is going to die a painful death,' he thought sourly. The next thing he noticed was that he couldn't find his wand and not only that; he even couldn't even swing his arms over to look for it. With no small amount of panic, he stared down at his tiny hands and fingers.

'What the hell?!' he thought as he began to recall the spell he had cast moments before waking up. It was supposed to be a spell that could grant you any wish just as long as the wish did not involve killing someone or the destruction of the world. He had wished to find happiness but look at him now. He was a bloody baby!!!

And the worst thing was- he was dressed in a light blue baby outfit-thingy that had small unicorns galloping around and jumping over imaginary fences. Oh, the humiliation!!! He would never be able to live it down!

Just as he was busy ranting in his mind and making devious plans to maim whoever had dressed him in such a ridiculous outfit, a small tiny arm announced its presence by curling itself onto his own. Going rigid, he mentally cursed himself for not noticing the presence of the other being lying next to him. He had been trained to sense the presence of anyone that was at a ten foot radius around him so how did he not notice this one?

Turning his tiny head to get a better look at the other occupant in that tiny cot, he gasped mentally when he realized that he was staring at a mirror version of his infant self. Soft raven locks curled around a tiny head and a small tiny nose alike his own peeked out from a soft baby blue blanket wrapped around the small body.

The other boy, he could tell from the color of his blue outfit, slept soundly while clinging onto his arm and snuggling into his side. The boy looked so peaceful, almost content and he felt a certain fondness growing inside for the other who looked so much like himself.

The second thing he noticed about the boy was the milky and powdery scent every newborn baby emitted but beneath that was a certain scent that had him sniffing again and again just to pick it up. It was almost like his own except that there was a certain 'softness' to it compared to his much 'harder' scent. It was like a soft drizzle on a rainy day, almost alluding at times but calming and gentle. 'It smells nice,' was the thought that ran through his mind before realization hit him square in the face. 'Merlin, he's my mate!' the thought scared him just as much as he delighted him.

He had thought that he would never find his mate or that his mate had perished before he had reached his sixteen birthday. His ideas it seemed were wrong as his living mate was lying right next to him and clinging ever so close.

Pondering deeply on the situation before him, he didn't notice when the small figure next to him began to stir from sleep. It was only when the body next to his started to wriggle did he finally realize that his mate had awoken.

Green eyes met green eyes as they stared at each other. 'What am I going to do now?' were his thoughts as he lost himself in the eyes that mirrored his own.

(space)(space)(space)

He was hovering between sleep and consciousness, not knowing whether to give in to tempting sleep or to wake up and find himself once again in an empty apartment room with only the photos of his best friends to keep him company. As he began drifting more towards the land of the living, he began to notice something that seemed out of place in his should-be-empty bed.

There was a warm body right next to his own.

Jerking into full-awake-mode, his eyes met the oh-so-familiar green eyes of the occupant lying next to him. 'What the hell?' he thought as memories began flashing through his mind. He remembered the cemetery, the gravestones, his whispered goodbye, the spell and the ball of light that wrapped around his body. 'Where am I?' he thought as he continued gazing into sea green eyes.

He broke their eye contact to explore his surroundings. It seemed that he was in a nursery of sorts for the walls were painted in a soft yellow with honey bees flying around the bright flowers painted along the walls. The ceiling it seemed was another evidence to support his conclusion. 'If that star winks at me again, I will personally blow a hole through the roof,' he thought with chills running through his spine.' This is worse than a horror movie,' he thought again.

The last thing his eyes came to rest on was the occupant of the cot he was sharing with. He didn't know what to think the moment his eyes took in the dark raven tresses, the high cheek bones and the sea green eyes. But the thing that startled him the most was that the other boy, the color of his outfit proved it, was only an infant. And since his body was the same length as the boy's, he concluded that he too was also an infant. 'How do I get myself into these things? All I wanted was to find happiness,' he thought with a mental groan.

(space)(space)(space)

He was amused as he took in the sight of his mate looking around in confusion once he had woken up. He had seen loneliness and grief in those green eyes, the same he supposed, as his. The pain in those eyes confirmed his theory that his mate was only an infant in body. No newborn infant could possibly understand the cruelties the world could contain.

But the question was, who was he? And what were they both doing here? Why did they look so much alike?

Just as those questions ran through his puzzled mind, the sound of a door creaking open alerted them of a possible arrival of the answers to their unsaid questions. Twin pair of green eyes stared towards the opening wooden door.

"Look James, they're awake," said the soft melodious voice of a fiery red haired witch that glanced their way before turning around to speak to someone else. She entered the nursery with a warm smile directed at them and walked right up to their cot. She stood at the side of their cot, looking down at them with love and adoration shining in her eyes.

"They are? Well, so what are the color of their eyes?" asked a smiling wizard with unruly dark hair as he entered the nursery and walked up towards their cot. He smiled warmly at them with pride as he stood next to his wife. "Looks like I won the bet, they both have you eyes," he said with a small laugh.

"Did I hear someone say that they won a bet?" asked a handsome looking wizard that sauntered into their nursery with a large smile on his face. He glanced at the two infants lying in the cot and groaned. "Looks like I owe you ten galleons after all," he said with fake despair.

"Oh, Sirius don't look so disappointed. You're still a candidate for their godfather after all," said James as Sirius stood next to him to glance down at the boys. "A candidate? I thought I was already their godfather?" Sirius said looking offended.

"Now, now boys, you are being too loud. You don't want to scare them do you?" she asked waggling her finger at them. The two wizards looked almost petrified at the thought of handling two crying infants and quickly kept their mouths shut as they stared innocently at Lily.

"That's what I thought," she said with a small laugh as she reached down into the cot to tuck them in properly. The blanket that had been used to cover them had crumpled and slid down to the bottom of their cot.

Memories of the people currently fussing over them flashed through the minds of the two boys. Their parents and their godfather were standing alive and healthy right next to them. They didn't know what to do except stare at them in disbelief and in their hearts they prayed that this was not just a dream. Waking up right then would surely be cruel.

"So, Lily, have you thought of their names yet?" asked a curious dogfather. "Yup, hmm…this one here is Harlan," she indicated towards the one closest to her. "And this one is Ryle," said Lily as she picked him up and handed him to his father. Ryle (previously known as Harry) stared into the eyes of his father, not believing that this was real. But after a moment he realized that it indeed was real, his father really did not know how to hold a baby. 'Ouch, that's my foot,' he thought with a twitch to his right eye.

"Ryle and Harlan Potter, I like it" said Sirius as he reached down into the cot and picked up Harlan (previously known as Harry).Sirius grinned happily as he carried Harlan about the nursery, showing him the pretty flowers and bees. 'I think I'm going to be sick,' thought Harlan as Sirius raised Harlan above his head and back down again and again.

Ryle who was currently watching the scene from his mother's arms, his father had given him back to his mother after Ryle kicked him for the fourth time, was seriously considering if he should hex his godfather. 'I swear if you drop him Sirius, I am going to castrate you,' he thought dangerously as he caught a glimpse of his almost-sick mate.

"Sirius, I think you should put him down. He doesn't look too good," said James as he took Harlan from Sirius and placed him back into the cot. The moment Harlan felt himself land safely on the soft mattress; he thanked whatever deity for giving him such a heroic dad. 'Sirius better be glad I'm not old enough to prank him yet,' thought Harlan as he glared at Sirius.

Once his mate was placed back into the cot, Ryle began wriggling in his mother's arms and made a show of wanting to go back to the cot. When he was placed back next to Harlan, he curled his arms protectively around him. 'For a baby he seems to know what's going on. Maybe there's more than meets the eye to him,' Harlan thought glancing suspiciously at Ryle. His only response was a small smirk which confirmed his theory that Ryle was not exactly a newborn baby.

'What have I really gotten myself into?' thought Harlan with a small groan.

(space)(space)(space)

His parents and Sirius had spent about half an hour with them before a nurse came in and told them that the boys needed to rest. And so with a final goodbye kisses on each of their foreheads, they left with promises of seeing them again tomorrow.

The visit it seemed had given them the answers the boys needed after all.

They were the twin sons of Lily and James Potter. Born on the 31st of July in St.Mungo's (which they were currently placed in before they could go home to their parents). There was a war going on, one with Voldemort still at large and gathering more followers.

Albus Dumbledore was the leader of the light and still the headmaster at Hogwarts.

The prophecy it seemed also never existed. The Potter's were not in hiding and James and Lily were aurors fighting for the Light.

In the end both of them came to one single conclusion, the spell they used had somehow transported them to an alternate dimension and placed their souls and memories into their infant selves.

Now the question was, what were they going to do?

Harlan looked curiously at Ryle. No way was Ryle a baby, his eyes spoke volumes of knowledge and power. Even as an infant, Harlan could practically feel Ryle's magic surrounding him in like a cocoon. He knew that Ryle had purposely hid it from their parents and Sirius but as Harlan himself carried much stronger magic than any ordinary wizards, the power could not be hid from him.

So, who was Ryle?

Noticing that Harlan had turned his attention towards him, Ryle looked into the suspicious eyes of his twin brother and mate. 'He wants answers,' thought Ryle as he tried gaining access to Harlan's mind. He had learned that using Legimancy, he could dive into a person's mind to communicate mentally with said person.

Harlan's mind was not like any other wizard's mind. Its defenses were strong, almost as strong as his own but being the magical creature that he was, he broke down its defenses after a few tries and entered Harlan's mind.

_'Hello, Harlan'_, he greeted his mate as Harlan widened his eyes in surprise at hearing Ryle's voice in his mind. _'How did you get through my mental shields?'_ asked Harlan as he stared even more suspiciously at his twin brother.

'_Your mental shields were quite impressive but I suppose being a vampire does have its benefits_,' said Ryle as he smirked. _'You're a vampire? But how? And who ARE you anyway_? 'asked a curious Harlan.

* * *

A/N Well, that's all for the time being. I named them Harlan and Ryle because the first three letters in Harlan is 'Har' and the first two letters in Ryle is "Ry", so if you combine the two it will be 'Harry'. I do hope to get reviews, I need to know what you guys think of this story. Until next time, bye bye. 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N I would like to thank all my reviewers for supporting me and cheering me up with their reviews. Reviews can really brighten my day so, thank you!

Disclaimer : No, I do not own Harry Potter. This is just a fanfiction.

Warning- Contains slash (boyxboy). It also contains incest and narcissism (well, depends on how you see it.)

"Hello"-speech

'Hello'-personal thoughts

'_Hello'-_mental conversations

* * *

(From the last chapter)

' _Hello, Harlan_,' he greeted his mate as Harlan widened his eyes in surprise at hearing Ryle's voice in his mind. ' _How did you get through my mental shields_?' asked Harlan as he stared even more suspiciously at his twin brother.

' _Your mental shields were quite impressive but I suppose being a vampire does have its benefits_,' said Ryle as he smirked. ' _You're a vampire? But how? And who ARE you anyway_? ' asked a curious Harlan.

* * *

' _My name is, or should I say, was Harry James Potter. My parents were killed by a wizard named Tom Riddle a.k.a Voldemort, when I was but an infant. I was sent to live with my aunt and her family and when I turned eleven, I attended Hogwarts, a school for young witches and wizards. I spent seven years pursuing my education there and on the day of my graduation, I defeated Voldemort and his followers._

_' After the final battle I traveled the world in search of finding the happiness I sought but even after a hundred years, I found nothing. And so, here I am. This situation is the product of a dark spell I cast that would grant me my wish of finding happiness_,' explained Ryle looking at a dumbstruck Harlan.

' _What about being a vampire_?' asked Harlan as he shifted further away towards the end of the cot. Hell, he wasn't planning on donating blood anytime soon…

'As_ for being a vampire…Well, you could say that it was because of the genes I had inherited from my paternal grandmother. Her side of the family had continuously intermarried with vampires over the ages and thus, the genes had somehow awoken inside of me after my sixteen birthday_,' said Ryle with amusement dancing in his eyes. His mate had shifted so close to the end of the cot that he looked like he was about to crawl out the moment there was any sign of bloodlust coming from his twin brother.

Ryle was still an infant so the need for blood wouldn't bother him until after a few more years as his body was still too weak to handle any form of blood for now.

Not like he was going to tell this to his twin brother anytime soon. Harlan's reactions were just too fun to watch after all.

' _You have got to be kidding me. I ended up in a universe with an alternate version of myself_?' cried out a frustrated Harlan.

_' Hmm..Really? So, what's your story_?' asked an amused Ryle.

'An alternate version of myself who's sadistic, this is so fun,' thought Harlan sarcastically.

' _Well, basically my story's the same as yours except that I was eighteen when I defeated Voldemort. There was a raid in Diagon Alley and my dearest friends were killed in the battle. I remember being so angry that all I could think of was destroying Volemort. That anger had fueled my magic enough to blast him into oblivion._

_I er…tried carrying on with life after that but even after five years I couldn't move on and so here I am. And yes, I used a spell as well_,' said Harlan, recalling his past life.

' _Interesting_,' said Ryle with a small smirk.

' _You think_?' asked Harlan sarcastically. He had begun to grudgingly accept that there was no way out of this situation. This was not a dream so he couldn't just wake up and thank whatever Gods that it was merely a figment of his imagination.

' _So, what do we do now_?' asked Harlan who was now kicking off the blanket that his mother had tightly tucked into the side of the cot. It was getting too warm and being a baby he couldn't possibly ask the nurse to lower the temperature in the nursery.

'Now that would look downright weird,' came the thought as he began picturing it in his head.

' _Well, we have a few options. One, we could pretend that we are merely innocent babies, grow up with normal childhoods and no one will be the wiser. Or two, we could break into the minds of our parents and tell them who we are and are later forced to play a part in the war. I have no doubt that Dumbledore will force our hand in this war anyway but the question is, when? Which option do you prefe_r?' asked Ryle as he helped Harlan pry the blankets of him.

' _I think I'd rather stick with option one. I have had enough of wars to last me a lifetime_, 'said Harlan as he successfully got the blankets off of him.

' _Fine with me, I don't fancy fighting anytime soon anyway_,' said Ryle as he too pried the blankets away from his small body.

' _Hey, so now that you're my new brother and all that, I suppose you could call us family huh? It's kind of weird referring to you as me when you're not really me_,' Harlan said with a laugh.

_' Family, huh_? _Well, I suppose you could call us that_,' said Ryle with a crook sided smile.

_' There's something you're not telling me is there_?' asked Harlan who knew that expression on Ryle face, he had used it many times.

_' Yup, you're my mate_,' said Ryle as he smirked at his dumbfounded brother. He watched as dozens of emotions flickered through Harlan's green eyes.

' _What!!!????_ ' asked Harlan, his eyes widening as soon as the words 'you're my mate' sunk in.

(space)(space)(space)

Hours later found Harlan turning towards his side in a pout. He had been ignoring Ryle ever since the 'revelation' as he so called dubbed it. During those few hours, he had tried to recall all he could about vampires and their mates.

Hermione had drilled it into both his and Ron's heads the moment she found out that Voldemort had gathered the vampires to his cause.

"We have to know and understand our enemies so we can defeat them," were the words that were constantly Hermione's companions every time she started her lectures. Ron had called her 'mental' every time she said it but there was always an underlying tone of affection in his voice.

Vampires were creatures that could live incredibly long lives but with near immortality came a price. They had a constant need for blood. Their source of blood comes from any living creatures including animals and humans alike. But as taking blood from humans had been banned by the Ministry, they relied on animal blood.

But there are cases when the mate of a vampire would willingly become the source of blood for the vampire. This practice was not banned by the Ministry because it is said that vampires, like veelas, would never intentionally harm their mates.

Vampires have strong telepathic powers, stronger than any wizard or witch that practiced occlumency and they are stronger physically. They have keener eyesight compared to humans and in some cases, wings. These cases are rare because a vampire needs to be incredibly powerful to grow these wings. The color of their wings tell the power status of the vampire, the darker their wings are, the stronger they are magically.

Vampires like veelas, sense their mates through scent and when they find their mates, they will attempt to court them even if their mates are unwilling.

These were some of the things he had recalled from his past lessons with Hermione and Ron in the library. Hermione had once asked them to read on about the mating rituals of vampires but he and Ron had blatantly refused.

"Enough already Hermione, we don't need to know how they mate! We just need to know how to defeat them," Ron had said as he looked disgustedly at the book that Hermione had placed in front of the two of them. 'Vampires and their Mating Rituals' was the title in big bold letters printed on the front cover of the book. Now Harlan wished that he had at least taken a peeked at the book. The information would definitely come in handy now.

With a sigh, he finally turned back to face his twin brother. Green eyes met his with an inquisitive gaze. Wit much reluctance, he nudged Ryle's mental shields in a request to start a mental conversation again.

Ryle's shields lowered just enough to let him gain access.

_'Err…_ 'was the only thing Harlan could think to say as he fidgeted nervously under the intense stare.

' _Finally done ignoring me_? 'asked Ryle staring at the fidgeting Harlan.

' _Yes, well, it does take some time for me to accept that I'm going to be stuck with my twin brother and alternate reality self for the rest of my life_,' grumbled Harlan.

_'And?_' asked a highly amused Ryle.

_'And, I have just one thing to say. Mating can wait until AFTER we turn sixteen, okay?'_ demanded a serious Harlan, his eyes looking out for any signs of an objection.

' _That's fine with me; I don't plan on being a pedophile anyway_,' said Ryle with a slight gleam in his eyes.

' _Hey! You may be over a hundred years old but it's not like I'm a kid!_' retorted Harlan, clearly offended.

Ryle only turned away to look towards the door. Feeling like he was being ignored, Harlan's small fingers nudged Ryle's in an attempt to draw back his attention.

Someone's coming, said Ryle as he turned back to look Harlan. With a nod, Harlan closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

The door slowly creaked open to reveal a wizard dressed in dark green robes. A white mask covered his face, preventing Ryle from identifying the wizard.

Closing the door behind him, he cast a locking charm and moved towards the cot where the two boys were placed in.

'He's a death eater,' thought Ryle as he observed the wizard. The wizard then reached out into the cot but before he could touch any of them, the door behind was blast open with a loud 'bang' and five aurors came pouring into the nursery.

"Step away from the boys," said a voice which both boys recognized clearly as Mad Eye Moody, his wand was pointed towards the death eater in a threatening manner.

The death eater seemed hesitant as he looked back and forth between the aurors and the infants lying in the cot. 'Must be pondering on which would be more painful, failing his master and getting crucio'ed or taking us and risk getting hit by the spells the aurors would send his way,' thought Ryle with a mental laugh.

The death eater it seemed, seem to think that the Dark Lord posed a greater threat as he lowered his arms to scoop the two boys up from the cot. But as soon as his hands approached the boys, he pulled back with a startled yelp and the aurors took that chance to hit him with a stunner curse.

"Get him out of here," ordered Moody as the other aurors rushed to portkey the death eater to the Ministry to await trial.

And as soon as the death eater was gone, Lily and James burst into the room with panic and fear clearly written on the faces. "Are my sons alright?" asked James just as soon as he spotted Moody. Lily only rushed towards the cot and scooped her two sons up into her arms. There were tears of relief on her face as she gently held on to Ryle and Harlan.

"My boys, I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered with relief as she kissed their foreheads.

"They're fine Potter. Not even a scratch, we caught the death eater just in time," said Moody as he saluted them a farewell and headed out of the nursery.

"Come on Lily, let's take them home," said James as he led his wife away with his two sons.

(space)(space)(space)

Potter Manor was a large three-storey building built in the middle a small valley. Its outer walls were painted in a pure unblemished white and dozens of balconies jutted out from the side of the manor. There was a large lake at the far end of the valley and tall sturdy trees surrounded the manor, protecting it from the harsh heat in summer.

There was a beautiful garden with benches and sculpted statues on the East side of the manor and there was a huge Quiditch pitch facing the lake towards the North. These were the things that both boys spotted as they arrived at the manor.

A huge chandelier greeted them as they entered the entrance hall and the portraits lined along the walls called out 'good evenings' and cooed at the two boys as they were brought up to their room. The boys were then carried to a large nursery painted in a soft green tone. The sight of a large cot, big enough to fit five babies told them that they were going to be sleeping together.

While Ryle was mentally groaning, Harlan was only amused when their parents changed them into matching blue pajamas that had small red dragons breathing fire sewn on it. Their parents bid them a final goodnight and with a soft 'nox' the lights in the nursery faded out, leaving them both in the dark.

' _I hate being a baby. These outfits are such a humiliation_,' said Ryle as he groaned mentally.

_' I think they're cute. And besides, you're a baby, it's not like you need to look anything other than cute_,' said an amused Harlan.

_' Well, at least I got to hex a death eater_, 'said a smug Ryle reaching out to take hold of his twin brother.

_'I knew that was you. What did you do anyway?'_ asked Harlan as he snuggled up to Ryle. It was slightly chilly after all, you couldn't blame him.

' _Oh, let's just say that he will be doing a lot of scratching for awhile_,' said Ryle with an evil glint in his eyes. Well, as evil as it could look on a baby anyway.

And soon the boys began to tire and they welcomed sleep with open arms.

* * *

A/N I apologize if Ryle and Harlan don't really act as how babies should act. But you can't blame them; they are adults in the bodies of newborn infants after all. Well, I hope that more people will review. I feel so sad when only a handful of readers are willing to tell me what they think of the story. Until next time, bye bye. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer : No, I do not own Harry Potter. This is just a fanfiction.

Warning- Contains slash (boyxboy). It also contains incest and narcissism (well, depends on how you see it.)

"Hello"-speech

'Hello'-personal thoughts

'_Hello'-_mental conversations

A/N I would like to thank my reviewers. You guys are great! You guys give me the motivation to write and I really appreciate that.

And to answer a few questions, some of you asked if I would be writing more about their childhood and the answer is yes. I need to write about how they grow up as jumping straight to when they go to Hogwarts would make the story seem too fast paced. But don't worry; you can be sure that their childhoods would not be boring. Harry Potter never does 'boring' after all.

And as for how long this fic will be….Well to tell you the truth, I don't really know. But we'll see won't we?

And as for character emotions, well I suppose you can say that it's especially hard to write about infants who show deep emotions. I suppose that while they're infants, their characters won't be as complex as when they grow up. Can you imagine having an emotional baby brooding away while he recalls his past memories? I certainly can but that would not portray much humor, huh? I'll let you guys in on a little secret, I have a certain dislike for angst and I suppose most of you can see that from the way I write. A little angst is fine but just not too much. I prefer writing light hearted stories but don't worry; I'll try my best to make this look as realistic as possible. So cheer me on people.

Let's go on shall we?

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It had taken Lily and James almost three months to complete the nursery. They had chosen this room specifically for their sons as it was one of the rooms in the manor that was almost always sunny and warm all year long. The sunlight, Lily insisted, would be good for their sons as they would need all the warmth that they could get.

And so, the nursery had taken up most of their free time during the past few months. They had taken every inch of the nursery into consideration. From the color of the walls to the size of the baby cot, they wanted everything to be perfect for their little ones.

As first time parents usually are, they were anxious about the arrival of their twin sons. Imagining themselves as parents was downright frightening. Would they qualify as parents? Could they give their children enough love and attention? These questions would repeatedly run through their minds as the arrival of their twin sons grew closer and closer with each passing day.

But the moment they first laid eyes on their twin sons, they instantly understood that no matter how challenging it was to become a parent, they would do everything in their power to make sure that their sons would grow up happy and safe. And no matter what, they would always be there to support their sons in whatever decisions they made. It was the duty of a parent after all, to believe in your own child and to put your trust in them.

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Lily had spent most of her free time in the nursery. When there weren't any meetings at the Order or missions from the Ministry, you would find her sitting at the side of a large baby cot as she watched over her twin sons.

Lily found them awfully intelligent for newly born infants. They hardly ever cried and the only times that they did were when they were hungry. Even house elves and loud noises did not scare them as they would have scared other infants their age.

When she sang to them or read them bedtime stories, they would stare up at her with rare understanding in their sea green eyes. Sometimes she suspected that they could even understand her one-sided conversations with them. She would talk to them sometimes, telling them about the war and how she was worried for her friends and their families.

Taking her fears to James would only worry him, she knew but with them she could pour out her heart and soul and the most they could do was stare up at her with their innocent green eyes as she rambled away. And at times they would gurgle and demand to be picked up when she was feeling down. It was like they could understand her worries and fears.

They were like angels sent down to comfort her in these dark times. She wouldn't know what to do if she ever lost them.

The incident of their near kidnapping had taught her that they would never be safe as long as Voldemort and his followers were still at large. No one was safe from the Dark Lord. The best they could do was pray and hope that they would be one of the fortunate ones to escape unscathed in this war.

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A small cry from Harlan broke her train of thought. Reaching down into the cot, she picked him up and rocked him slowly in her arms. "Tippy," called out Lily as she moved to sit down. She placed Harlan on her lap and looked into wide sea green eyes that practically shouted 'Feed me! I'm hungry!'

Tippy, a houself, appeared moments later with a small 'pop'. "Mistress is calling Tippy?" asked the eager houself. The elf was dressed in a white pillowcase that had the Potter crest sewn on the front. Tippy was a young elf that had been dubbed as bouncy and eager to please the moment Lily had met her. The perfectly clean and spotless Potter Manor was proof of that.

"Yes, could you get Harlan his milk bottle? He seems to be hungry," said Lily as she smiled kindly at the elf. She always had had a soft spot for houselves. Ever since she had learned of their existence in the Potter Manor, she had been trying her best to make sure that they were treated with kindness and respect. No living creature should be treated as something no better than dirt after all.

"Right away Mistress! Tippy is getting young Master Harlan's milk bottle," said Tippy as she popped out of the nursery. She appeared back in the nursery moments later with another 'pop' and eagerly handed over the milk bottle in her hands to Lily. "Thank you, Tippy," said Lily to the elf who simply beamed at the compliment.

When Tippy was dismissed, she left for the kitchens to brag to the other houselves. It was after all a common practice among the houselves in the Potter Manor. The status of a houself is determined by how the houself is regarded by his or her master. If they are regarded with favour, they had a higher status compared to the other houselves but if they are regarded with scorn however, they are regarded as eyesores to the other houselves.

The Potter houselves had always been happy to serve their masters as most of the past Lords and Ladies had been kind to them. Ever since the time of the founders their forebears had served the Potters and up till the current generation, none of the houselves have ever regretted working for them.

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Harlan happily latched onto the milk bottle the moment it was given to him. 'I'm hungry! You can't blame me,' thought Harlan as he proceeded to empty the bottle of its contents.

Ryle watched with amusement from the cot as his mother frowned at Harlan for 'suckling like a piglet' as she so bluntly put it. A warm and fuzzy feeling formed in his chest as he continued watching the scene. Who would have thought that he would get to see his mother alive and healthy after being an orphan for so long?

And this time around he would have parents and a godfather to spoil him rotten as he grew up. He was glad that he had taken the risk and cast the spell that transported him here. Meeting his mate was an added bonus as well. Who would have thought that an alternate version of himself was his mate?

Being a baby it seemed had many benefits. When all you had to do was eat, sleep and eat again all day, you had lots of time to think. And think he did.

He thought about the future and the war between the Light and Voldemort. He wouldn't call Voldemort Dark as the Dark side after all, was not evil. Mindless slaughter and murder had abosolutely nothing to go with being Dark, it just made you cruel.

Long ago, even before the time of Merlin, the wizarding world had been divided into both Light and Dark. Both had a leader and an equal amount of wizards and magical creatures in their communities. Both sides had lived in harmony with one another until a group of Dark wizards had destroyed the peace between the two sides by attacking the Light in an effort to prove that they were the superior beings.

The animosity between Light and Dark had started from there and throughout the ages countless battles and wars had been fought by both sides with neither one willing to back down. Their misconceptions about the other had led to many deaths and pointless fighting.

The Light which had classified all Dark beings as evil had caused all Dark wizards and creatures to be discriminated and the Dark which had thought themselves superior to the Light had resulted with the appearance of many 'Dark Lords' that have continuously tried to 'prove' their superiority by indulging themselves in mindless murder. Grindelwald and Voldemort were one of the few 'Dark Lords' who had made their mark in history because of the misconception that Dark magic was stronger than Light magic.

Dark magic was never and will never be stronger than Light magic. They are equal in power and the only difference between to two is that Dark wizards tend to be better at preserving the records of their magic in comparison to the Light wizards. It is a pity that the oldest forms of Light magic have faded from the knowledge of Light wizards in the current generation. True Light magic would have made the 'Dark Lords' think twice before messing with the Light. Not that dark magic wasn't powerful; it all depends on the wizard who uses the magic after all.

That had basically been a brief summary on the history of the Light side and the Dark side. Ryle had come across an ancient scroll that recorded the magical community's history during his travels. Finding the scroll had not been easy but that of course, was another story for another day.

But back to his musings, being a baby gave him lots of time to think of what to do with the future. He had jokingly suggested to his mate awhile ago that they should lie low and pretend to be ordinary and clueless babies. They had both been only half serious at the time knowing that with the war going on; they could not possibly be neutral when their parents were in danger of getting killed by Voldemort and his followers.

No way in hell were they going to let their parents die this time around when it was their power to save them. They knew that their magic was strong but being only infants, they could not possibly defeat a Dark Lord in their current states. There would be no 'Harry Potter' this time to stop Voldemort. So what would happen to the wizarding world if there was no 'boy-who-lived' to save them?

They knew that they needed a plan, one that would let them lie low until they had full control of their powers and one that would keep them out the spotlight. But what could they possibly do?

Thoughts such as these have occupied their minds ever since the incident of their near kidnapping. The deatheaters were getting bolder and with no one to stop their master this time, who knew what would happen to the wizarding world by the time they were ready to defeat Voldemort? Time was running out they knew, they needed a plan and they needed it soon. Rumours of Voldemort gathering an army to attack Hogwarts and the Ministry have been spreading like wildfire.

Time was running out for the wizarding world.

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"Lily," called out a voice from outside the nursery. Lily who had been reading to her twin sons in the nursery immediately stopped reading and with the flick of a wand, the book was placed back in with the other story books on the shelf.

"In here, James," called out Lily instantly recognizing the owner of the voice calling out to her from downstairs. A few moments later the door of the nursery was pushed open with a small creak to reveal James Potter, fully dressed in his auror robes.

"James, what's wrong?" asked Lily noticing the grim look on James' face. "The report on the deatheater who tried to kidnap our sons just came in," said James as he closed the nursery door behind him and conjured a chair to sit beside his wife.

"Well? What did it say?" asked Lily anxiously, she had been waiting for some news of the deatheater ever since the incident at the hospital. She knew that anything that had to do with Voldemort was definitely not good news but she simply had to know why the deatheater had been trying to kidnap her twin boys.

"Well, it seems that there have been similar cases throughout the wizarding world. Deatheaters have been sneaking into hospitals to kidnap young newborns under the Dark Lords orders," said James as he absent mindedly ran a hand through his unruly dark hair.

"But why?" asked Lily who glanced nervously at her twin sons. "What would they want with newborn infants?" she asked again.

"Under the verisatum, the deatheater who was caught admitted that the Dark Lord wanted to raise the newborns as future deatheaters," spat out James as he glared at nothing in particular.

Lily only kept silent as she looked down into the cot to see her twin sons staring up at her with their innocent green eyes. They were still so innocent, born into the world that held so much pain and cruelty. She felt a deep pang of sadness rise up in her chest as Harlan began squirming and demanded to be picked up.

She would be able to pick him up now but in the future, would she still be able to gather up her twin sons in her arms and promise them safety and protection? These promises were empty she knew, she might not be able to keep them some day. Dark times were approaching and the future looked grim. She felt almost sorry for them to be born in a time such as this. Wouldn't it have been wonderful if they had been born in times of peace? They would not have to face such cruel times if they had been.

"Will they try to kidnap our sons again?" asked Lily who had bent down to carry up Harlan into her arms. She needed to know, she needed to be prepared.

"They might," was all James said as he stared out the window. He could not possibly bear to see the look of anguish on the face of his wife. He loved her and his sons so much but he knew that there can be times when he would be powerless to stop harm from befalling them.

Lily only nodded as she rocked Harlan silently in her arms. She looked down into the cot to see Ryle staring up at her with adoring eyes. They were so young, too young in fact to face the horrors the world could hold.

To try and lighten up the mood, James said, "You know, the deatheater they caught had came down with a nasty case of rashes the size of dragon warts. The healers suspect that it is some sort of a magical virus but Mad Eye insists that it was caused by a nasty hex. They tried looking for the hex but they could find no traces of it when they ran a test. Sirius suspects that one of the aurors had 'accidentally' hexed him when he was brought in and is still looking for the 'heroic' auror."

Lily laughed at the image that popped up in her mind. That would be fun to see. It was a fitting punishment she concluded, as she knew how annoying and downright frustrating it is to even get a minor case of rashes.

"So, have they found a cure for the rashes yet?" asked Lily as she giggled slightly.

"Nope," said James as they both stared at each other in amusement before bursting out in fits of laughter.

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A/N Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I've got an exam coming up so I might not be able to update as often but don't worry, I'll try to my best to update. Please review, I do so love reviews. Until next time, bye bye. 


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